Chronicle • Ben FredmanA Great Lakes Indoor Football League football lies on the field at L.C. Walker Arena on Thursday. The Muskegon Thunder kicks off its inaugural season Friday night.

Chronicle • Ben FredmanMike Josefowicz, an employee of Muskegon Public Schools, paints a line on the Muskegon Thunder's field in L.C. Walker Arena Thursday in preparation for the Thunder's Home opener Friday night.

Football has been central to the Pringles' family life for many years.

But never so much as in the past year and never more intensely than Friday night when they unveil indoor professional football to local fans.

Don and Julia Pringle have spent more than a dozen fall seasons following Fruitport Trojan high school football teams since Don was a volunteer assistant coach and their son, Adam, progressed from ball boy to star lineman.

The family then followed Adam's collegiate career at Albion College and his pro career with teams from Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio, Italy and Denmark.

But Friday night, the Fruitport couple will stay home to see Adam play at the L.C. Walker Arena as the Muskegon Thunder, the local entrant in the Continental Indoor Football League, debuts in its home opener.

About the Thunder

Muskegon's pro indoor football team plays its first home game 7:30 p.m. today against Summit County (Ohio) at L.C. Walker Arena. The following are some facts about the team you might not know.

• Tickets: Tickets range in price from $9 to $16 and are available at the Walker Arena Box Office: (231) 726-2400.

• Schedule: The Thunder play 12 games, six at home. Other homes games are April 21 (Port Huron); May 26 (Springfield); June 9 (Chicago); June 16 (Kalamazoo); and June 23 (Lehigh Valley).

• Footballs: Each home team is required to furnish 40 footballs for each home game, to ensure there are enough. The Spaulding footballs the Thunder use retail for $40. They are brown with a CIFL logo stitched in.

• Main differences: Indoor football is played on a field that is roughly one-quarter the size of a traditional, outdoor football field. The Thunder play 7-on-7 football, with the basic formation being three down linemen (one eligible to catch a pass), two receivers, one running back and a quarterback. Scores often reach 70 points or more.

• Naming the team: The Thunder was chosen by the Pringles after a couple of days of brainstorming. They thought it would be very marketable and work well with a logo. The team also has a "Static Shock" dance team.

• The Hawk logo: Obviously, Thunder is inanimate, so they wanted something to go along with the Thunder. Someone from the CIFL office came up with the hawk and they ran with it.

• Colors: Navy blue pants, light blue jerseys and helmets. The Pringles chose those colors because Adam Pringle, who also plays for the team, always liked the jerseys of North Carolina's football team.

• Dance team: "Static Shock."

The Pringles, including Adam, are the owners of Muskegon's latest professional sports team.

"This year will set the tone for the future," said Don Pringle, the team's general manager, who scaled back to part-time as an independent agent for Primerica Financial Services to launch the Thunder.

"Success for us will be to complete the season with a positive response and support from the community.

"We know that we have to prove ourselves," Don Pringle said of the franchise. "Fans will like this game as it will be unlike anything else they have experienced. I believe in my heart that from the feedback we've received ... the (fan) following will be there."

The Thunder leases the arena for a flat fee and retains all of its ticket and merchandise sales. A $1 city of Muskegon facility per ticket surcharge goes to arena operations, maintenance and improvements. The arena receives the parking concessions and almost all of the food concessions, according to the Pringles.

Besides the arena, the football team uses the Lakeshore Sports Centre for practice and the Omni Fitness Club for workouts.

"We are going into this with no doubts and no hesitations," said Julia of a Christian family that has faith in the business it has formed. "We didn't plan this team. We had one question after another that every time the answers just kept coming up 'yes.'"

For the complete story, return to Mlive.com on Friday or pick up a copy of Friday's Muskegon Chronicle.